IUCN status: Vulnerable
EPBC Predator Threat Rating: Moderate
IUCN claim: “The current major threats to the natural subpopulations of the species include: the accidental introduction of predators (introduced cats and foxes)”
Bandicoots were reintroduced successfully into a fenced reserve which excluded foxes (Richards & Short 2003). Richards (2012) argued that the incursion of foxes into a fenced reserve led to population declines, but no data was provided. Bandicoots were last confirmed in the Nullarbor, WA and SA 14-26 years after foxes arrived (Current submission).
Bandicoots were last confirmed in NSW and south-west WA 20-46 years before foxes arrived (Current submission).
There are no studies evidencing a negative association between foxes
and western barred bandicoot populations. The fate of reintroduced
animals is not a reliable proxy for the fate of populations. In
contradiction with the claim, two extirpation records pre-date the fox
arrival records.
Current submission (2023) Scant evidence that introduced predators cause extinctions. Conservation Biology
EPBC. (2015) Threat Abatement Plan for Predation by Feral Cats. Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, Department of Environment, Government of Australia. (Table A1).
Fairfax, Dispersal of the introduced red fox (Vulpes vulpes) across Australia. Biol. Invasions 21, 1259-1268 (2019).
IUCN Red List. https://www.iucnredlist.org/ Accessed June 2023